


Instant Hotel

by Julieoftarth (Wherethereissmoak)



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluffyfest, Friends to Lovers, Funny, JBWeek, bed sharing, instant hotel au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-11-08 11:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20834381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wherethereissmoak/pseuds/Julieoftarth
Summary: Best friends and business partners Jaime and Brienne enter their Instant Hotel into a competition. Brienne thinks that it's to bring publicity to their business. Jaime knows it's because he wants them to spend more time together, and maybe so he can confess his feelings toward her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy JB week, ya'll! I saw this Instant Hotel reality show on Netflix and it screamed a JB modern AU to me. I've been sitting on it for a while, but JB week is the best time to share. 
> 
> This first chapter is just intro. Updates throughout the week. Enjoy!

Hello, and welcome to the brand-new season of Instant Hotel! I’m your host, Danaerys Targaryen. Four teams are here to try to prove that their Instant Hotel is the very best in Westeros. So, whose home, turned into a rental, will be the best? Only time will tell!

For the next few weeks, we will visit each one. The teams will stay in each other’s space and give a score out of ten based on four criteria: the house, location/nearby attractions, value for money & quality of a good night’s sleep.

Our first team hails from the North -north of the wall, to be exact. Friends Tormund Giantsbane and Jon Snow think their home in the frozen landscape will be the best vacation spot. While they certainly will get points for a unique location, will it be enough of a draw for the other teams to score it high enough to win? And what is with those wistful looks Jon is always throwing at his wildling friend?

Next, we travel to the opposite climate – the sands of Dorne. Steamy couple Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand promise to heat things up for our contestants with a resort bungalow with a pool. But is their sensual style too much for an average guest? Only time will tell. And this couple seems up for anything, will they make a move on other teams – both competitively and romantically?

Next, we travel to the beaches of the Stormlands, where best friends Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth offer their beachfront property for rent. The location is ideal, but do these two have what it takes to be the best hosts? And what is this weird chemistry between them? Are they just friends, as Brienne insists they are, or is there more behind that shrug and wink Jaime gave us when we asked that question?

Finally, we will travel to the Reach where siblings Loras and Margaery Tyrell promise to put guests up in their home decorated with elegance and style. Will their luxurious home delight our guests or will it be too over the top? These two siblings have high standards – will they give other teams low scores as a result?

After all the scores have been tallied, the top two teams will compete again, making changes to their property based on guest feedback.

How will each team score? Will contestants score others based on honesty or on their desire to win? How will four groups of strangers get along when forced to vacation together in one home?

Find out this season on – Instant Hotel!


	2. The North

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first stop on the tour of Instant Hotels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who were wondering, an Instant Hotel is when people put up their homes to rent out as a vacation rental. Like on Homeaway or AirBnB. :)

Brienne pulled open the tablet they had been given as Jaime turned the corner. They were only about five miles out from their first Instant Hotel, and they were supposed to film their bit in the car when they went over its description.

“I hate the fucking North,” Jaime said as the car slid on the ice a bit and he gripped the steering wheel to try to correct it.

“Jaime, I was about to record. Watch your language,” Brienne scolded him, and he just rolled his eyes. “This whole show was your idea!”

He chuckled. “I just wanted to get us some publicity for our business. I didn’t know it would mean I would be freezing to death in the north.”

Brienne sighed. “It’s a unique location. They may get lots of points for that. Besides, it grows on you.”

“I don’t want things growing on me,” Jaime complained. Brienne told him to shut up again before hitting record on the camera they’ve been given.

“Right, it says here that this Instant Hotel is a series of rooms in what used to be East Watch, a historical sight to do with the old Night’s Watch.”

“Sounds…not that exciting,” Jaime said with a laugh. Brienne figured that little bit of dialogue was enough for the show’s producers to use, so she shut down the camera. Once they pulled up to the location, the camera crews would do the rest of the work.

They pulled up to a dreary looking castle, where they could see television personnel and a couple of other cars grouped out front.

“Are you ready to do this, wench?” Jaime looked at her with a gleam in his eye. Why he was so excited about this, she wouldn’t know.

“No, I don’t want to be on television. And I don’t want to spend the next four weekends with complete strangers. This was a bad idea.” Though she was miffed at Jaime, she wanted to make sure he was okay in the cold northern weather, so she brought out an extra pair of mittens to put over his stump.

“It won’t be so terrible, Brienne. You can look at it as spending the next four weekends with me too. And I’m your favorite person.” He wasn’t lying. Jaime had been her favorite person since they worked together to take down some bullies in high school. But that didn’t mean she wanted it to go to his head.

“I already spend a lot of time with you. Too much, to be exact. My idea of vacation would be some time in silence, which I’m afraid you can’t quite seem to provide.” Brienne meant for her words to be teasing, but Jaime turned away and proved that he could be silent. Still, he let Brienne slide the mitten over his hand. “I’m sorry, Jaime. I’m just antsy about this whole thing.”

He turned back to her and gave her that grin that always made her stomach swirl. “Don’t worry, wench, it’s going to be great.”

They stood in front of the castle while Miss Targaryen did the show’s intro. Tormund and Jon would not be staying in the house with them for the night, but they were on the steps so they would do an official welcome to the group.

Tormund made Brienne feel a little uncomfortable. He leered at her. And not in that “oh look at that ugly beast of a woman” kind of leer, but an “I want throw you over my shoulder and have my way with you” kind of leer. Brienne wasn’t used to that kind of attention, and Tormund was not the type of man that she was into.

Jaime seemed to notice the stares too because he stepped closer to Brienne and glared back at the giant red-headed man. “Stay away from that one, wench. He gives me the creeps.”

Brienne wanted to roll her eyes at Jaime and tell him to stay out of her love life like she always did, but she kind of agreed with him on this one. In the past, whenever any guy had shown interest in her, Jaime found some reason as to why she should not go out with him. He said it was all in defense of her honor, but Brienne wondered if he wanted his best friend to remain single for as long as he was. She tried to tell him that she would still be his friend and business partner when she finally decided to settle down, but he got a strange look on his face and said they would be more than that.

Jaime was looking at her strangely all the time lately.

But she didn’t have time to think about that now, because Dany was telling them that they could rush into the house. Apparently, they were supposed to hurry, because only one team could get the master bedroom. That was the nicest in the house. Brienne wanted to get that one because it probably had the biggest bed so her feet wouldn’t hang off the end, and she could put enough distance between her and Jaime while she slept.

Just because she was really good at not revealing her attraction to her best friend while she was awake, didn’t mean she trusted her body to subconsciously do the same while asleep. The last thing she needed was to wake up clinging to Jaime. She did not need to know what it felt like to be in his arms, and she didn’t want the awkwardness of explaining to him that it was an accident.

It was laughable really. She was hitting every ugly girl cliché in the book by falling for her gorgeous best friend and unrequitedly loving him for years.

“Earth to wenchy wench, are you ready? I fully expect you to take down some of these teams in the race for the good bedroom.”

But when Dany opened the door, Margaery and Ellaria screeched like banshees and raced in as fast as their high heels could carry them.

“Oh no, I’m not getting in the middle of that,” Brienne said, shaking her head. 

Jaime laughed and pushed his way past the other people streaming into the house. “Don’t worry – I will find us the best room!”

Brienne lost track of him as he entered the house. While it wasn’t the fanciest place to rent, it definitely was unique. Ancient walls gave the whole building a dark and gloomy feel. Lanterns gave a dim light, and the furniture was that of an old hunting lounge.

“Jaime?” she called, after passing the master room and seeing Margaery and Ellaria both refusing to leave. Oberyn was suggesting that they all four could share the bed. Loras looked interested in sharing with the Dornish man, but the two women were not giving in.

“I’m back here, Wench! I got a good bed!”

Brienne followed the sound of his voice to a room that only had a double bed. “Jaime, this is tiny! We’ll never fit!”

He grinned. “I guess we’ll just have to keep close. Besides, it’s so cold here, we would have to sleep close for warmth anyway.”

Brienne rolled her eyes at him, but on the inside, her heart was racing. This would not do at all.

“What about the other room that isn’t the master? The other couples are still fighting, so we could grab that?”

Jaime chuckled. “The other room is the living room. This is a two-bedroom place, so one team has to sleep on the pull-out couch. This double bed is far superior to that.”

Brienne couldn’t help but agree on that one. At least she had for the rest of the afternoon to build up the courage to sleep next to him.

**

This was going better than Jaime had hoped when he signed them up for this. Sure, he told Brienne that it was publicity for their B&B. But the truth was, he signed them up on the show because he wanted the opportunity to show Brienne how he felt about her.

He had been madly in love with her since before they bought their little beachfront property on Tarth together as a business venture. Jaime probably fell in love with her when she was the only one who showed up at the hospital after the accident that took two of his fingers in college.

No, it was before that.

Maybe it was in high school when she beat those bullies to a pulp. Or scored the winning goal on the soccer team. Or ignored his sister’s taunts whenever she came over to his house. Or when she befriended Tyrion.

Who was he kidding? He fell for Brienne the moment his eyes met her blue ones and she scowled at him. Gods, he lived for that scowl. Almost as much as her blush.

But she was not catching any of the hints he was giving her about his feelings. And any attempt to tell her outright was met with a laugh and being told to stop teasing her. It was more than he could bear.

This trip was already working, though, because he had been able to get them the room with the smallest bed. He would be able to get past her barriers by snuggling her at night. It would work. It had to.

But first, they had to get through the area activity Jon and Tormund had planned to boost their location scores. They would be taking a hike along the old Wall, and then stopping into a local pub for a pint.

“How’s your hand, is it hurting?” Brienne asked him about 30 minutes into their hike. Always worrying about him, his wench. He loved her so. To be honest, the cold was making his old injury ache, but he didn’t want to turn back.

“I’ll be fine. This extra mitten really did help,” he reassured her. Behind him, he could hear some of the other teams complaining about the hike. They had not packed to prepare for a hike in this frozen wasteland.

“It’s so silly,” Brienne told him while they hiked, toasty in their winter gear. “What did they think we would be doing this far north – sitting by the pool?”

He chuckled. “Not many of them have ever faced the cold before.”

She rolled her eyes. “Neither have we, but we had enough brains to prepare.” One of the things he loved about Brienne was the way she embraced every challenge. And when she heard they would be coming here, she had excitedly started preparing them.

The group was a little disgruntled by the time they reached the pub, and the regulars were a bit off-putting. Loud, boisterous and a lot like that Tormund fellow. While the other two teams sat in the corner glumly, Jaime cheered Brienne on as she challenged the largest guy in the place to an arm wrestle. He loved it when hulking dudes thought they could beat her because she was a woman. It made the joy of watching her put them in their place all the more sweeter.

“What’s their problem,” Brienne said, as Jaime counted his winnings from betting on Brienne. He looked up to see the other teams ready to go.

“I think they are going to give Jon and Tormund low scores for location at least.” Jaime handed Brienne her coat and put his own on before she helped him with his mitten.

“Why? This has actually been really fun.” Brienne’s smile went all the way to her bright blue eyes, and Jaime gave her a fond look.

“Some people are not always up for an adventure,” he explained.

“We always are,” Brienne said with a grin as she put her winter cap on.

Jaime reached up and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in her face up into her hat. “Yeah, we always are.”

Was this it? The moment he would tell her how he felt? He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by some drunkards breaking out into a loud version of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” at the bar.

Brienne burst into laughter before dragging him out the door. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the right time, but he got to hear her laugh. It was not a total wash.

**

Brienne couldn’t put a finger on what it was, but Jaime was acting strangely all night. Like he had something to tell her but kept holding back. Immediately, her mind leaped to the worst-case scenarios. He didn’t want to be in business anymore and was going to leave Tarth. His family had finally gotten their hooks back into him.

Or worse yet, he found a girlfriend. That would be FINE. Of course.

_Liar,_ her inward voice taunted. She ignored it and shook the snow off herself before heading to her room. Earlier in the day, everyone had made big plans to stay up and drink tonight, but everyone was exhausted and practically crawling to their beds by the time they got back.

Brienne eyed the tiny bed before grabbing a trunk that sat in the room and put it on the end. There, at least her feet wouldn’t hang over.

“Good thinking, wench,” Jaime said with a grin as he entered the room.

She frowned. “I have a feeling that this will have to become a habit during the next couple of weeks. I think Instant Hotels were not made for tall people.”

Jaime stripped out of his shirt and crawled into bed in just his sweatpants. She knew that he slept without a shirt, but now faced with the thought of having to sleep next to him and keep her hands to herself…it was too much.

“Well, you can factor the lack of legroom into your scores for a good night’s sleep,” he said. It was hard for her to focus on the words coming out of his mouth. Brienne went into the bathroom to change but kept talking to him through the door.

“I don’t know…it’s not Jon and Tormund’s problem I’m so tall. Besides everyone else is probably going to score them low for the location. I feel bad,” Brienne said as she pulled on her pajamas.

Jaime laughed in the other room. “You do remember that this is a competition, right, wench? If we give them high scores – we are just going to have to try to beat those. I think other teams will be scoring low to increase their chances.”

“That is so dishonorable. If we win – I want it to be because our place is the best. Not because we cheated.” Brienne grabbed her dirty clothes and headed for the door.

“Ever my noble wen…” his words cut off as he stared at Brienne when she entered the room. Brienne looked down at herself to see if anything was the matter with her outfit. Nothing. Just her T-shirt and short pajama shorts. Why was Jaime staring at her knees? She didn’t have any scrapes on them or anything.

Brienne shrugged and climbed into bed. “Goodnight, Jaime.” She laid on her side, trying to get into a position where she would not be touching him, but it was no use. Her back was pressed against his, their bodies fitting together easily. It felt really nice. It felt like torture.

“Goodnight, Brienne,” Jaime said in a choked voice. Brienne didn’t know what he was so upset about. He wasn’t being forced to snuggle with the best friend he was secretly in love with.

**

This plan was a terrible idea, Jaime thought to himself as he waited for Dany to reveal Jon and Tormund’s scores so they could be on their way. He wanted the opportunity to be close to Brienne, but being snuggled with her all night while she was wearing those short shorts had been agony. He had to take an exceptionally long – and cold – shower that morning to get his body to calm down.

Brienne pretended to be asleep as he extricated himself from her embrace, but he saw the warm blush on her cheeks.

_Fine, wench, we won’t talk about it. _

And to make matters worse, they had fought for an hour about what score to give Jon and Tormund’s hotel. Brienne had a wonderful time, so she wanted to rank them high. Jaime wanted to win, so he wanted to give them a score somewhere in the middle.

“You practically got splinters having to put your feet on that chest all night!” He argued until he was blue in the face, but his stubborn love would not budge. They only took off two points out of ten for the entire experience.

They were right about the other teams, though. Jon and Tormund received bottom-of-the-barrel scores from the fancier folk. Tormund looked devastated. He asked Brienne for a hug after the filming was complete.

“I’m looking forward to spending time with you at the next place, big woman,” the red-headed man whispered so loudly in her ear that everyone could hear. Brienne shivered, and the look on her face said that it was from disgust, not excitement.

At least Jaime didn’t need to be jealous. As they drove away from their frozen experience, Jaime brainstormed what he could do during the remaining weekends to woo his wench.


	3. Dorne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams travel to Dorne. Jaime has issues staying put on silk bedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the love on this story! Happy Day 3 of JB week. :)

“Welcome back to Instant Hotel. I’m your host Dany and today things are really going to start heating up. We are moving from the frozen climate north of the wall to the sunshine of Dorne. Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand are eager to show off their resort-like home, but will it be enough to impress their harshest critics who are in it to win it?”

The teams waited for Dany to finish so they could race inside and fight over the master bedroom. Brienne was not playing around this time. She was in it to win it. Her feet would not be hanging over the edge of a tiny bed anymore.

“You’re in your fighting stance, wench,” Jaime teased, his breath on her neck. “I’m surprised the other people aren’t just stepping aside so that you don’t hurt them.”

Brienne didn’t bother to respond. She had to focus. Eye on the prize. Dany opened the front door and she took off running...and fell flat on her face.

“Jaime! How did your foot get there?”

He shrugged and grinned as she growled at him. Jaime gave her a helping hand as she scrambled to her feet. By the time she got inside, the other couples were fighting over the master.

“Oh, that’s too bad. Guess we’ll have to take one of the little ones again,” Jaime said in a dry tone. Brienne narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. Had he wanted her to lose the big bedroom? Brienne clapped with excitement when they entered another of the guest rooms. Every bedroom had a king-sized bed in it. And even the couches were wide enough that multiple people could fit on if they were laying down. It seemed the sultry hosts of the week thought everyone deserved a big bed to romp around in.

Not that she and Jaime would do any romping, not at all. She turned to Jaime to see him scowling at the bed.

“What’s the matter? This looks wonderful.”

He pressed down on the mattress. “Feels lumpy.”

Brienne tested it too. “Lumpy? This is smooth as silk! In fact, I think this is silk!”

“Whatever,” Jaime said angrily, tossing the suitcases on the bed and stomping out of the room.

Brienne wondered what his problem was.

**

Although Jaime thought sleeping in close proximity to Brienne, and her glorious legs, was somewhat torturous last weekend, he found that he missed her desperately every night since. He had been looking forward to sleeping in a tiny bed with her all week as they prepared for the next round of Instant Hotel.

Okay, sure, maybe he tripped her a little when she tried to race for the master bathroom. But all that effort was in vain because the Dornish couple had put king-sized beds in every room. Damn them and their luxurious tastes. His wench would probably scoot as far away from his as possible tonight.

Oberyn and Ellaria had suggested two activities for the group – either belly dancing or sword fighting lessons. Margaery convinced Loras to do the dancing. Jaime and Brienne of course chose sword-fighting, because it was already a hobby of theirs.

But then he tried in vain for a half-hour to try to convince Brienne to do the belly dancing when he learned that Tormund and Jon were also choosing swords.

“Oh come on, Jaime. No one wants to see all of this in one of those belly dancing outfits.”

Jaime suddenly needed another long, cold shower.

The sword fighting lesson was actually fun, and they learned some new tricks with the different fighting styles in Dorne. But things went downhill quickly when Tormund beat Jaime to the punch when asking Brienne to spar. Jon wore a pained expression on his face, which Jaime was sure his matched. Did the lad also have feelings for his best friend?

The two of them half-heartedly fought and then watched Tormund and Brienne spar. His wench made quick work of Tormund, which made Jaime gleeful. That is until he saw that it made the bearded giant even more into Brienne. She was breathing heavily with excitement from the match, her cheeks red.

He had to do something, and fast.

“Spar with me, wench.”

“Jaime, I’m tired, I just sparred.”

He gave her the puppy dog look that always seemed to work for him in the past. “Please? When are we ever going to get to use these Dornish type swords again?”

She gave in and they were off. Jaime could see the excitement in her eyes because they were more evenly matched than their previous opponents. She knocked him flat and asked him to yield, but he cut her feet out from under her and was able to pin her.

“You yield, wench.”

“Um, you do realize that this was sword fighting, and you two dropped your swords about five minutes ago. We don’t offer wrestling lessons,” the instructor said.

Jaime grinned as Brienne blushed and pushed him off. She scrambled to her feet. Tormund looked sad. Jon had a smile on his face while comforting him.

Things were going exceptionally well.

**

Brienne’s plan to stay as far away from Jaime as possible was not succeeding. First, the group suggested they all get in the hot tub. She loathed being in her bikini in front of so many people, especially after the way Tormund and Oberyn gazed at her like she was a snack when she walked out onto the deck. This put Jaime in an exceedingly grumpy mood. That man was always obsessed with standing up for her honor, even when she could hold her own. 

There was also the fact that being in this hot tub with a shirtless Jaime reminded her of the time they first bonded in a similar location. Jaime had confessed all of his deepest secrets to her in a hot tub at an inn near Harrenhal, and that was the day she started to finally admit to herself that she was in love with him. Being in the warm water again with him brought up many feelings that she wanted to bury. 

"I'm tired...I need to go to bed," she said to the other guests as she got out quickly and all but ran to their room. Not surprisingly, Jaime wasn't far behind. He opened his mouth to speak, but she hurried to the bathroom to change. The last thing she needed was a "you know we're just friends, right," conversation. 

Jaime was already in bed by the time she walked back in the room. Brienne was momentarily relieved at having to avoid another awkward situation. 

But then he started complaining about the bed.

“Do you think this room is not level? I feel like the bed is tilted.” He shuffled back and forth in his spot, trying to get comfortable. Brienne made a point not to look at his naked chest as he did so.

“What? That’s ridiculous.”

Jaime shuffled again. “Nope, I think I’m going to have to score them low because of it.”

“You are just looking for an excuse. This place is great,” Brienne argued.

“You saw a cockroach in the shower earlier!”

“But there was just the one.”

Brienne knew Jaime was rolling his eyes at her, even though she couldn’t see it. She was grateful that they were back to their normal argumentative pattern of conversation. Again, she heard him shuffling around.

Suddenly his leg was on hers. “Jaime! Stay on your side!”

“Sorry, wench, this silk is just so slippery.” He apologized, but did not pull his leg back.

More shuffling.

“Jaime…” she started to scold him, but suddenly he was rolling her way. “What are you doing?”

“I told you this bed was at a tilt. I just slid over here,” Jaime said as his body pressed against hers. 

She started to argue, but Jaime was making loud, and very fake, snoring noises.

“Ridiculous man,” she said in a huff, knowing there was no way she could get him to untangle from her now. She felt Jaime smile into her shoulder before he placed a kiss on it. What the hell did that mean?

**

Jaime was feeling good. He slept with his favorite person in his arms, and he had won an argument with her this morning to give the instant hotel a score of 7 out of 10. Sure, the house was luxurious, but bugs and snakes everywhere deserved a few points off the top. And they had no air conditioning.

Not that he minded sweating with his wench, but it was worth at least a point off.

The Dornish couple were dismayed by their scores, and the look in Ellaria’s eyes promised revenge. Jaime was worried they would be scored low next week because of it. But Brienne had given the woman a hug afterward and they had exchanged stories about sword fighting, and they departed with everyone in a better mood.

She really was the best, his wench.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaime, being all smooth with that tilted bed thing. ;)


	4. Tarth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams travel to Tarth to judge Jaime and Brienne's Instant Hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skipped a day, but here I am with another update. :) We are in Tarth! Things get stormy in the Stormlands. :)

Brienne wiped down the kitchen counter one more time and went to fluff the pillows again. She was not normally a pillow fluffer, but the stakes were high on this one. Their cozy little beach cabin would be on television. And even if they didn’t win the competition, just the visit itself was great marketing.

When she and Jaime bought this place together, people thought they were crazy. But they both had enough of city life and politics and they wanted to settle somewhere quiet on the beach. Sure, they weren’t a couple, but they had been best friends for so long that them going somewhere together had been a given.

They were surprisingly good at it. Their business skills combined with Brienne’s gracious hospitality and Jaime’s charm had made their little venture a success. So much so that they were thinking of buying a second property since their first was renting out so much that they were staying at her dad’s place more often than not.

“I cleaned the bathrooms one more time, and made sure to put all our swords away,” Jaime called from the living room. “I think we’re ready.”

Brienne’s stomach churned as they welcomed Dany into their home to give the tour for the show, but Jaime just squeezed her hand and smiled. Some of his confidence poured into her. They could do this. They had created a beautiful space, and should be proud of it.

The two of them stood outside while the other teams raced in to fight for bedrooms.

“Huh. It’s kind of weird to be on this end of things,” Jaime said and Brienne agreed.

“At least we’re not risking bodily harm trying to get a big bed this time.” Brienne was determined that she would get the master bedroom on this venture, at least once. “Come on, let’s go to my dad’s.”

Jaime just shook his head. “I forgot to tell you, wench. Your dad called this morning and there was a burst pipe at Evenfall Hall. It’s a mess. I had to book us at the hotel.”

Brienne grimaced. “That must have been a pretty penny. It’s tourist season.” People had been flocking to the beaches of Tarth for relaxation and a slower pace of living for the past few weeks. The activities they planned for their guests had been all shoreline adventures.

“Yes, it was expensive, and they only had one room available!”

Brienne gaped at him. “So you mean we will have to share a room again?”

Jaime grinned at her. “What’s the big deal? We’ve done it plenty of times now.”

And ended up wrapped up in each other, Brienne thought. Could she take another night of it? Guess she had no other choice. Jaime seemed entirely too cheerful about this.

“Did you arrange this on purpose? Why are you so happy?”

He just shrugged. “I liked sleeping together after my injury when you were checking on me to make sure I was alive. I guess I’ve missed it.”

Brienne had missed it as well, but she wasn’t about to admit to her best friend that she had a hard time sleeping without him next to her.

She decided to change the subject.

“Do you think they will like the activities we planned?”

Instead of sword fighting, since that was taken by the Dorne team, Jaime and Brienne had decided to showcase some of the beauty of Tarth. The activities they recommended included horseback riding on the beach and cliff diving.

Jaime smiled. “Well, I’m hoping the less adventurous ones will still be into the ride on the beach. Maybe we should have included a trip to the hot springs.”

“We can put that it in if we make it to the finals and they have to come for a second visit,” Brienne explained. She pulled up in front of the hotel and Jaime grabbed their suitcases out of the front. She still felt the inclination to help him, but knew that part of his rehabilitation after his hand surgery was doing as much as he could and asking for assistance when he needed it.

Still, she had remembered to pack his favorite hand cream that eased Jaime’s aching joints at the end of the day.

“I made us a reservation at the restaurant,” Jaime said and Brienne blinked at him in surprise. The seafood restaurant at Tarth’s main hotel was the most expensive on the island. They never ate there, preferring fish and chips from the snack shack on the beach.

“What’s the occasion?”

Jaime looked uncomfortable. “Uh, nothing, can’t I just take my favorite person out to a fancy dinner for once? As a pre-victory celebration?”

Brienne frowned at him. “You don’t know that we will win. Don’t you think it’s bad luck to celebrate early?”

“Please, wench? I heard they have the best lobster on the island,” Jaime begged.

The rumors were true about the food. Her father had brought her to this restaurant as a teenager several times for her birthday, and she did like the idea of sharing it with Jaime. “Okay, but I’m paying.”

“Brienne, I don’t mind dipping into my trust fund from time to time when needed.”

She just shook her head at him. “This is a want, not a need. And you are trying for a clean break from the Lannister money, except for emergencies. A lobster dinner is not an emergency.”

Jaime sighed and then finally agreed. She was glad that she wore one of her nice pantsuits for the show intro today, so she wouldn’t feel out of place at such a fancy restaurant. She needed one less thing to worry about when trying not to think of a candlelit meal with her best friend as romantic.

And that would take all her concentration.

**

Operation date night was on target. When Jaime first got the news that they were booked on the Instant Hotel show, he put in a reservation for the restaurant during the weekend they would be hosting. This was it, his chance to take Brienne out on a date and tell her how he really felt about her.

She looked beautiful in the candlelight of the restaurant, her blue eyes sparkling at him.

Why was he suddenly without any courage? He had been preparing for this day for so long. Jaime noticed that Brienne was looking nervous as well, her hands wringing in her lap as they waited for their salads.

“What’s the matter, wench?” He decided to go with the nickname she used to detest until it grew on her, just to lighten the mood.

“What if they hate it, Jaime? What if the guests are sitting there, marking us down for every little thing right now? We don’t have fancy decorations like they did in Dorne. We don’t have centuries of history like at East Watch. What do we have to offer?”

Jaime reached out across the table and slid their hands together. “We have the beautiful beaches of Tarth with waters so blue they…haunt you in your sleep. We have a home that you and I built….together.”

Brienne’s eyes misted at his words. “Do you think it’s enough?”

He nodded. “It had better be. You and I put our hearts and souls into this place. And it is a representation of us.”

“We did pretty well, didn’t we? Who would have thought the two of us could pull this off. Years ago, we wanted to murder each other. It’s funny how things can change.” Brienne’s fond smile warmed his heart. 

This was it, the moment he had been waiting for. Jaime reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Brienne…I have to tell you something.”

She froze, as if bracing herself for bad news. What did she think he was going to say? “Okay, I’m ready to hear what you have to tell me. You’re going back to King’s Landing…arent’ you?”

That he wasn’t expecting. “What?”

“I know you’ve been keeping something back for months. I’ve just been waiting for the shoe to drop. You’re finally going to go back and join Lannister Inc., aren’t you?”

He gaped at her. “No, absolutely not! How could you ever think I would return to that lion’s den ever again?”

She shrugged. “Well, they are your family.”

His eyes narrowed. “Have you been thinking this the entire time we’ve been here? That I would build this business with you and then abandon you.”

She shrugged again. Jaime tried to keep his temper under control. He knew Brienne’s past history with terrible people made it hard for her to trust, but he thought they were past that between the two of them.

“Why would I put us on this Instant Hotel show for business if I was just planning on leaving?”

She gave him a sad smile. “Jaime, you are one of the most honorable people I know. I figured you were trying to bring in as much publicity for the business before leaving so it wouldn’t be sticking me with something that was failing.”

Jaime sighed. His stupid, naïve wench. How could she still be so blind to how he felt about her. He reached out and grabbed her hand again.

“Brienne, I want you to listen to me very carefully,” he tried to keep his voice as even as possible, but it still came out strained. “I’m not leaving you. Not now, not ever.”

“But…”

“Not now, not ever.”

“Jaime, you are not thinking practically. Someday you are going to meet someone and get married. She’s not going to like that you are sharing a home and business with another woman.”

Okay, now was the moment.

“Brienne there’s not going to be another woman because…”

Before he could get the words out an alarm blared through the restaurant. A severe storm was coming, and there was a call for everyone to go to the shelter up at Evenfall Hall. Brienne gave him an alarmed expression.

“We need to go check on our guests and make sure they heard,” she said. “I know we will be going in the opposite direction that we are supposed to, but they need to be safe.

Jaime didn’t have time to be dismayed that his love confession was cut off, because he was following the girl of his dreams into the storm to rescue their competitors.

**

Brienne hadn’t expected their guests to spend the night in the basement of her father’s home with the rest of the community, but she did her best to make the most of the situation. She passed out hot chocolate and blankets to everyone, and as usual, the people of Tarth started to sing happy songs to pass the time.

“This is actually pretty fun,” Margaery said while sipping her cocoa. “Everyone’s so happy to be together.”

The rest of the guests seemed to agree, which was a surprise to Brienne considering that they were all used to fancier accommodations.

“I thought I wouldn’t get to see you much while we were here, Big Woman, but this is much better,” Tormund said with a wink before joining in the group singing.

Jaime scowled at the man, but Brienne just chuckled. As the storm raged on, people curled up on air mattresses they brought down for these occasions. Brienne laid in the corner, and of course, Jaime was next to her, snoring loudly.

“You guys are so cute. How long have you been together?” Ellaria whispered over Jaime’s snores.

“Oh, we’re not together, we’re just friends. Best friends.”

She Dornish woman scoffed. “Most friends do not act the way you do. You are clearly in love with him.”

Brienne’s cheeks turned red, but she just shook her head. “No, we are friends. It doesn’t matter how I feel. Someone like me doesn’t get together with someone like him.”

Oberyn spoke up then. “You mean two tall and sexy people don’t ever hook up? I’d sleep with both of you in a heartbeat.”

Brienne was suddenly uncomfortable with this conversation. Ellaria just rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and gave Brienne a sympathetic look.

“I know you have probably been told things in the past that made you feel that way, but that man sleeping next to you is clearly in love with you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He is smitten,” Ellaria said. “Just think about it.”

She winked at Brienne and curled up to go to sleep. Brienne allowed herself for a moment to believe that it was true. Could Jaime be as in love with her as she was with him? No, he would have said something.

As her eyes started to drift closed, Brienne felt Jaime’s arm wrap around her and pull her closer in his sleep. She snuggled closer to him, pretending that what Margaery thought was true, that they were together.

She would let herself enjoy it for one night.

**

Jaime and Brienne were surprised the next morning when the group still gave them high scores, despite having to sleep in the storm shelter.

They all said the experience was unique and they felt well taken care of, even if nature tried to intervene. They were now in the lead, with only the Highgarden team left to go. No matter what happened, Jaime and Brienne would be in the finals.

This made Jaime overjoyed, not only because of their success but because it gave him an extra weekend to try to flirt with Brienne. He was afraid that if he didn’t do something to move them forward during this competition, they would be stuck in the friend zone forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh the angst between these two! Next up - Highgarden!


	5. Highgarden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne tries to take matters into her own hands. She's about as successful as Jaime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a couple of days. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Getting close to the end!

Highgarden was beautiful, there was no arguing that. Margaery and Loras had spared no expense in presenting their opulent estate as a vacation rental.

“I’ve never seen anything so over the top,” Jaime murmured. “And I’m a Lannister.”

Brienne stared at the priceless paintings on the wall. “It seems kind of unfair, doesn’t it?”

Jaime came to stand next to her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, most of us teams worked hard to create vacation rentals. But these two clearly don’t own this home, or maybe they do and their grandmother just gave it to them. There is no way they decorated it with all these priceless paintings without using their family’s money,” Brienne said.

Jaime scoffed. “Brienne Tarth, are you a snob?”

She just shook her head. “No, I’m just saying it’s not fair.”

He laughed. “Not that I disagree with you, wench. They not only have stocked this place with pricey items, but they put a list by the front door so we would all know the value of the fancy art we were looking at.”

Brienne heard shouting in the background and winced. Tormund and Jon were battling Ellaria and Oberyn for the biggest bedroom. “You know, I’m glad you convinced me not to try to compete for the master this time. It is less stressful this way.”

And she looked forward to sharing a tiny bed with him again, Brienne finally admitted to herself. When the fighting finally settled, Jaime and Brienne went in search of the third bedroom that they would share.

Brienne froze at the door when she saw where they would be sleeping for the night. “Jaime Lannister, you have had plenty of terrible ideas, but this is the worst. We definitely should have fought for the master.”

Jaime gaped at the room. “Bunk beds? Why would they have bunk beds in a vacation rental?”

“For families, probably.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, who is going to bring their small children to a house filled with priceless art. It makes no sense.”

Brienne was too busy staring at the beds to try to figure out the logistics. She had bigger problems to solve. “How on earth are we going to fit?”

Jaime tossed their bags in the corner and eyed the bed. “There is no way either of us is going to fit on the top bunk. Your legs would almost hang down to the floor. And you would bump your head getting up there.”

She arched a brow at him. “And why would I be the only one trying to get up there and not you?”

He waved his bad hand at her. “I have a disability.”

Most people would hem and haw and apologize and give him all the accommodations. Not his wench. She just rolled her eyes and said she would shove him up there if she had to.

“How about a better idea?” Jaime reached up and started pulling the mattress off the top bunk. “Help me, will you, Brienne?”

She did, and the two of them made quick work of putting both mattresses next to each other on the floor. Sure there wasn’t a lot of walking space, but at least they could sleep.

“You could have left the bottom bunk and just slept there,” she told Jaime, though she was secretly glad he didn’t.

“Oh no, if you’re sleeping on the floor, then I am too.”

There were two suggested activities for Highgarden – a tour of the art gallery of the main house, which apparently had even more priceless artifacts, or a trip through the hedge mazes. Not surprisingly, everyone chose the mazes.

They decided to make a game of it. The first round, each team raced through the maze and the one with the fastest time won. It turned out all the others were just as competitive as Jaime and Brienne. Tormund and Jon ended up beating them, and Brienne couldn’t help but notice that their hug lasted longer than a normal hug would.

“Why won’t Tormund realize how Jon feels about him?” Brienne asked Ellaria, who just gave her a pointed look. “It’s not the same,” she argued, but the Dornish woman just rolled her eyes.

The second game they played was for one partner to be at one end of the maze and use their voice to guide their blindfolded partner through it. Jaime and Brienne had the best communication and won quickly - with Jaime leaping into Brienne's arms when he made it through the maze. 

“Still think there isn’t anything more to you two?” Ellaria whispered after Brienne finally set Jaime down. 

“You coming, wench? We deserve a celebratory drink,” Jaime said, looking at her with such warmth in his eyes that Brienne felt a rush of heat flood her body.

Ellaria’s words stuck in her mind for the rest of the evening, and she was looking at all of Jaime’s actions during the past month in a new light.

**

That night when they were getting ready to sleep in their makeshift mattress bed, Jaime was scrambling to think of a reason for them to snuggle. The two mattresses made it so they could spend the night without touching each other.

And he didn’t want that at all.

Brienne started tossing and turning on her side.

“What’s the matter,” he asked.

“This bed is lumpy,” she complained.

Jaime barked out a laugh. “Oh, now who is the one who is whining?”

She shuffled around some more before sighing. “Shove over.”

“What?”

“Move over, I’ll share that mattress with you,” Brienne scooched over to his side and shoved him to make room.

Not that he was complaining, but this was new behavior on her part. “Do you want me to switch?” He still had to offer, just to be nice.

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t make you sleep on that lumpy thing. No, we can share.”

Brienne snuggled into him, and Jaime thought he was in heaven.

“Jaime, what were you going to tell me at the restaurant? You’ve been avoiding the topic all week,” Brienne whispered into his ear.

Jaime panicked. He didn’t want to ruin the moment. What if she rejected him? What if, once again, she didn’t believe him and got angry because she thought he was mocking her?

Jaime did the only thing he could think of – he pretended to be asleep and enjoyed another night being held in Brienne’s arms.

**

Brienne was in a glum mood the next morning. Her attempts to get the truth out of Jaime last night had not worked. Sure, they had gotten to snuggle all night, but that was it. Did Jaime have feelings for her? Or was Ellaria just mistaken?

They didn’t have time to talk about it again, because it was time to reveal the scores. Not surprisingly, people were not impressed with the fancy art when care wasn’t put into the comfort of guests. It turned out that the bedding in all the rooms was not of the highest quality and everyone’s bed was lumpy. Brienne snorted at that – at least that made her ruse to snuggle Jaime last night a bit more believable.

In a surprising twist of events – the two least fancy Instant Hotels were moving onto the finale – Jaime and Brienne’s and Jon and Tormund’s.

“Looks like we are heading back north to judge again, wench,” Jaime said with a grin. Each finalist team would go back to their opponent’s rental, and one of the other losing teams. A new couple would visit each place as well. Whoever got a higher score for the weekend would win the entire competition.

The thought of another weekend snuggling with Jaime without answers when it came to their relationship sounded like torture. She needed to have that important conversation with him, this week.

But after they returned from Highgarden to Tarth, Jaime started avoiding her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaime is an idiot. LOL


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne is super mad at Jaime for avoiding her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience with Jaime and Brienne being such oblivious idiots. Hope the payoff is worth it!

Jaime had started out the Instant Hotel competition with the idea of getting closer to Brienne, and now he was actively trying to stay away from her. He didn’t want to have the conversation he had started in the fancy restaurant, because he had convinced himself that she didn’t feel the same way about him – despite the snuggles last week.

Sure, they had caught Jon and Tormund making out after the last episode and that guy was now out of the picture when it came to competition for her affection, but Jaime was still afraid to move forward. Brienne was being so nice to him lately. He didn’t want to ruin it by spilling his feelings for her.

Jaime conveniently found errands for himself all week to keep them apart, mostly focused on getting their home ready for another guest invasion this weekend. While they were away in the north, the other teams would be visiting here and rating them.

Brienne’s reaction had gone from sad confusion to annoyance to downright anger.

“What did you do to my daughter?” Selwyn Tarth demanded when he walked into Jaime’s room as he was packing up for the Northern weekend. “She’s been angry with you before, but this time seems different.”

Jaime shrugged and kept packing, not wanting to meet Mr. Tarth’s eyes. The man had always had a kindly tolerance for him and had treated him better than his own father ever had. “I didn’t do anything to her.”

Selwyn crossed his arms, clearly not believing him at all. “So why are you trying to stay away from her, unless you are worried that she’s going to be angry with you about something?”

Jaime just kept packing.

“Lannister, answer the question.”

Jaime sighed. “Fine. I didn’t do anything to her. I’m just avoiding her because I took her out to a fancy dinner to tell her how I feel about her and the storm happened and I couldn’t do it.”

Selwyn gave him a pitying smile. “So why are you running away from her now, instead of running to her to tell her you are in love with her?”

Jaime’s eyes widened. “You knew?”

“Son, everyone who looks at the two of you knows,” the older man said with a chuckle. “Except, it seems, my daughter. Why is that, Jaime?”

Jaime sat down on the bed and looked at his feet. “Well, I was going to tell her, but then everything happened and she suddenly started being so nice to me and I didn’t want to ruin it.”

Selwyn studied him for a moment. “And why would you telling Brienne that you love her ruin the fact that she is being nice to you?”

Jaime sighed again. “Many reasons.”

Selwyn sat down next to Jaime. “Explain them to me, because I’m exceedingly interested in how you are making this unintelligent choice.”

Jaime’s defenses flared at the Tarth patriarch’s words. “Well, for one, your stubborn daughter has not believed me in the past when I’ve tried to flirt with her, tell her she’s beautiful or made any indication that I want to be more than friends with her.”

Selwyn nodded at that. “You know the reasons for her past as to why she does that.”

“That doesn’t make it any less frustrating.”

Selwyn gave him an amused look. “Being frustrated never stopped you from doing anything before, Lannister. Or is my daughter wrong when she insists you aren’t the quitting type.”

Jaime smiled at the reminder of Brienne’s faith in him. “No, she’s not wrong. I’m never giving up.”

The older man nodded. “Any other reasons?”

“Well, she has been in a really good mood lately and not scowling at me as much. I don’t want to ruin it,” Jaime explained.

“I thought you liked it when she scowled,” Selwyn said with a laugh.

“Well I do, but…”

“And it seems like you avoiding her all week has done the exact opposite of what you wanted, because now she is in a foul mood.”

Selwyn did have a point.

The older man continued. “I think it just comes down to you being afraid. What are you afraid of, lad?”

Without thinking, Jaime blurted out “that she doesn’t love me back. That I will make things so awkward that I won’t even get to keep her as a friend. Brienne in my life is a need, not a want, and I can’t lose that.”

Selwyn surprised Jaime by throwing an arm around his shoulder and pulling him in for a side hug.

“Do you feel better for getting that out?”

“Not really.”

Mr. Tarth just smiled at him. “You know what I was saying about it being obvious that you loved Brienne?”

Jaime nodded.

“Well, it’s equally obvious as to how she feels about you. She loves you, Jaime. Brienne doesn’t often suffer fools, but she sure does endure your company quite a bit.”

Jaime was too taken aback by the first part of Selwyn’s statement to be insulted by the last. Could he be right? Did Brienne love him? Was that why she snuggled into him at Highgarden last week?

“You think…Brienne…loves me?”

Selwyn looked surprised. “Of course she does! Now, what are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to kiss her!”

The older man cringed. “Well, I don’t need those kinds of details, son. And make sure you ask first, or you will get a fist to the face. Even if she does love you.”

Jaime grinned. “Yep, that sounds like her. Oh wait. She’s really pissed at me. How can I tell her now.”

Selwyn chuckled. “Well, you had better find a way to help her get over it.”

The woman in question stormed into the room, dragging her suitcase behind her. One of her famous scowls had taken up residence on her face.

“There you are? Are you ready? I’ve been waiting here for an hour!” Brienne looked between the two men suspiciously. “What are you two talking about?”

Selwyn got up from the bed and kissed his daughter on the cheek.

“My work here is done. Have a good weekend up North, sweetling. I hope you come back in a better mood.”

Brienne scowled at Jaime again. “I doubt it.” She stormed off toward the car, slamming the front door behind her.

Jaime followed glumly. He had his work cut out for him. Selwyn patted him on the shoulder as he passed. “Be brave lad, be brave.”

**

The music in the car was now at an almost deafening decibel. Whenever Jaime tried to talk to her, Brienne responded in kind by turning up the radio. The trend continued until it was so loud that neither of them was comfortable.

Idiot man. He avoided her all week, and now he suddenly wanted to talk to her? Nope, that was not happening. Brienne had now convinced herself that Margaery and Ellaria were wrong and he had no romantic feelings for her at all. She had made a fool of herself by that whole lumpy mattress thing and now he was actively avoiding the awkwardness.

He pulled the same type of stunt with the silky sheets and it wasn’t awkward, her inner voice protested. But Brienne was too mad to listen to it.

Now Jaime was covering his ears because of the loud music and staring sadly at her. It was going to be a long, long weekend.

When her ears couldn’t take it anymore, she slammed off the radio and enjoyed the blissful silence.

Until her idiot interrupted it.

“Brienne…”

“I don’t’ want to talk to you.”

“Ever?”

“Maybe.”

Jaime’s eyes widened at that. “You’re that mad at me?”

“Jaime, you’ve made it perfectly clear this week that you don’t want to be around me, so I’m giving you what you want.”

He sighed. “Brienne, that’ s not what I want.”

Brienne wiped a tear that had slipped from her eyes unbidden. “It’s alright Jaime. I know that I made you feel uncomfortable and awkward. You were probably going to cut ties at our dinner out and I didn’t take the hint.”

Jaime let out a groan of frustration. “For the last time, wench. I’m not leaving you or our business. Will you stop thinking that?”

“You keep giving me mixed messages. One week you are trying to slide on silk sheets so you could be close to me and the next you are avoiding me like the plague. What am I supposed to think?”

Jaime blinked. “You’re right.”

Brienne’s heart sank. She knew it. He was leaving her, and he didn’t have the courage to tell her. That’s why he was avoiding her. But why did he keep denying that it was happening?

“It’s okay, Jaime. I will be fine. The business will be fine. You can go live your life.”

“YOU ARE MY LIFE AND I’M NOT LEAVING YOU SO STOP SAYING I AM!”

It took Brienne a moment to process what he had just said. “What?”

“Brienne, pull over the car.”

She protested. “I can’t, we have to be at the Instant Hotel in the next 20 minutes.”

“I’m getting out of this car whether you stop the car or not, so unless you want me to lose the use of my other hand, I would pull over.”

She rolled her eyes at his speech. Jaime Lannister, always so melodramatic. “You don’t know you would injure your other hand.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Are you willing to try?”

She pulled the car over. “Will you please stop insisting on injuring yourself? I can’t be the only one that values your life.”

He grinned at her. “You value me, wench?”

“Shut up and get out of the car. You wanted to go, so go.”

“No, I wanted you to pull over so I could talk to you,” Jaime still wore that annoying smile of his.

“Can’t we talk while I drive?”

Jaime got out of the car and walked around to her side and opened the door. He held out a hand to her. “Humor me, wench, please.”

She sighed as she wrangled her long legs out of the car. “Okay, now what? Are you going to yell at me some more? Or do I get to yell at you?”

“Neither,” Jaime said, guiding her so that her back was against the wall and his body pressed against hers.

What was he doing? Panicked, she thought about what he said in the car. “You’re not leaving me?”

He shook his head, his expression serious. “Never,” Jaime whispered in her ear.

“I’m your life?” She was incredulous at those words he had yelled at her.

“Always,” he whispered. His breath on her neck, making Brienne shiver.

“Jaime…” was all she could get out before he was capturing her lips. Brienne froze in shock before she returned his kiss with equal fervor.

When they finally pulled back, she couldn’t stop the grin that broke across her face. “So at the restaurant…”

“I was trying to get up the nerve to tell you that I’m totally in love with you, wench.”

Brienne had never been a giggler, so she was very surprised when one escaped from her lips. Jaime grinned and quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Oh, you think my love confession is funny?”

“No, it’s just that I’ve been in love with you for so long too, and I never thought anything like this would happen.”

Jaime chuckled. “We’re kind of idiots.”

She just nodded. “I think our friends would agree.”

“And your father.”

Brienne blushed. “Oh gods, is this what you two were talking about today?”

Jaime just answered with a kiss. The two of them made out against the car for several minutes, trying to make up for lost time. Cars honked at them in congratulations, but they hardly noticed.

They did, however, notice when Jaime’s phone started buzzing like crazy in his pocket.

“Oh gods, we are late, we need to go,” Brienne said. She reluctantly extricated herself from Jaime’s arms and got into the driver’s seat again.

Jaime got into the passenger’s side. “Who cares? Let’s blow them off.”

She gave him a stern look. “Jaime, we are in the finals. We can’t blow them off.”

He shrugged. “I only got into this thing so I could spend more time with you. Who cares if we win?”

Brienne blinked. Stupid, idiot man. She loved him so much. Brienne leaned over and kissed him before starting the car.

“Be that as it may, we signed a contract. We need to keep our word.”

Jaime smiled. “Ever my honorable wench. Okay, fine. I look forward to sharing a bed with you all night.”

Brienne almost slammed on the brakes when she realized something. “Jaime Lannister! Did you trip me on purpose so we would get a smaller bed?”

He just shrugged and she rolled her eyes.

Stupid, idiot man, she thought again. But hers. Totally hers.

**

The next morning, Jaime and Brienne were surprised that the others in the group didn’t enjoy their stay in the north as much as they did.

“Now, we won’t be revealing the scores until the final episode, but we will read some of the guests’ comment cards,” Dany told the group.

She held up the first card. “The walls of this hotel are far too thin. We could hear couples on either side of us having intimate relations all night. It was very loud.”

Jaime grinned. That card had to be from the newcomer couple Stannis and Selyse.

“The rooms should have two-way mirrors. We heard another couple making love and it sounded so wild that we really wanted to see what was going on,” another card said. That had to be from Ellaria and Oberyn.

“The furniture could be sturdier. We broke the bed,” was the last card. Jaime grinned and Brienne blushed profusely.

Yes, their trip to the north had gone very well indeed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Broken beds for the win! 
> 
> Only one short epilogue left to wrap up the Instant Hotel competition. Who will win?


	7. And the winner is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final tallies are in!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone for you kudos and comments on this story. I hope you enjoyed it. :) Just a quick epilogue here to wrap things up.

The teams were gathered on the beach to reveal the final scores of the Instant Hotel finale. Dany was doing one last makeup check, but everyone else was in place.

Brienne’s heart was beating rapidly. She wanted to win so badly. Feeling Jaime’s fingers slip through hers, she realized she had already won quite a bit out of this competition. But besides having an amazing boyfriend, she also wanted the money prize so they could buy a second property.

“Relax, wench. We have this in the bag,” Jaime whispered in her ear.

It had been two weeks since she kissed Jaime for the first time, and sometimes she still couldn’t believe it happened. But he was quite fond of reminding her frequently that they were together. In the hallway, up against every wall, in the closets.

It got to the point that her father had said they had better win and get more than one extra property because his sensibilities could not handle them making out so much…and doing other things…in his house while theirs was booked.

“No matter what happens, I love you, and I’m proud of the business we’ve built,” Jaime said.

She smiled at him. “I love you too. But we deserve to win.”

He grinned. “Yes, we do. Ours was clearly the best.”

And they were right. As the scores trickled in – it was clear that everyone had a great time on Tarth, and that Jaime and Brienne had won over everyone’s hearts.

The other teams cheered when Dany revealed that Jaime and Brienne had the top scores and would be receiving the cash prize. Jon and Tormund didn’t even look sad, and merely asked if they could rent the place for the night so they could try out a few more of the beds. Tormund’s eyebrows waggled when he said it, his arms wrapped around Jon.

After the finale wrapped, Dany said glumly that this was the least dramatic season of Instant Hotel they ever had, because no one was upset or tried to sabotage Jaime and Brienne.

“My wench is too nice to hate,” Jaime said with a grin.

Dany just nodded before snapping her fingers at an assistant who brought over some paperwork.

“I would have to agree. Besides the lack of drama, you two already have the internet shippers going wild with excitement, just from the preview clips of the season. Despite the lack of petty drama, I imagine the ratings will be very high because people will want to see you get together. Pity it happened by the side of the road and not on camera,” she gave them a stern look.

Brienne took the paperwork from Dany and frowned at it. “What’s this contract for?”

Dany smiled. “Oh, the network wanted me to get exclusive rights to film and broadcast your wedding.”

Brienne dropped the paper like it was on fire. “What? We aren’t…I mean, we just started dating…we’re not getting married!”

She wondered why Jaime wasn’t freaking as much as she was. Why would the network think they were already engaged.

Jaime just calmly picked the paper off the ground, pulled the pen out of Dany’s hands. “Sounds great, but you had better give me a few months to convince her.”

“JAIME!”

He grinned. “Okay, make it six months.”

Dany nodded. “Perfect, that’s during sweeps.”

“Jaime, we are not getting married to boost television ratings.”

He pulled her in for a kiss. “Silly wench. You know I will not stop at using a television show to get what I want.”

“You want to get married? Jaime, we just started dating!”

He stopped her protests with a kiss, and as she softened against him, Jaime realized he may not need six months at all. Sure, they had only been dating a few weeks, but they had been together for years.

And it wouldn’t take him long to convince her that they should stay that way…for the rest of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, awesome JB peeps.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you are excited for the rest! This chapter was just a teaser. I know all those other teams were mentioned, but they are just background characters. This is mostly all JB, all the time.


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